Mets continue dominance of Phils with sweep

PHILADELPHIA -- The Mets have not loosened their chokehold on the Phillies.
New York beat Philadelphia, 5-4, on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, completing a three-game series sweep in which it outscored the National League East rival, 23-11, and outhomered it, 10-3. The Mets are 42-18 against the Phillies since the beginning of the 2014 season, outscoring them by 129 runs.
"They're always important to win in your division," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "We're just going to try to come out each day and continue pitching as well as we're pitching, and we'll have a chance to win a lot of games. This was a good three games for us."
The Mets took an early 5-0 lead on Wednesday, thanks to a productive night from Mets center fielder Michael Conforto, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and three runs scored, and right-hander Zack Wheeler, who opened with five scoreless innings and picked up his first win since 2014.

But after Wheeler loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, Hansel Robles entered the game to face Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco. Robles allowed a first-pitch grand slam to center field to make it a one-run game.
• Franco knocks second grand slam

"It was a little stressful," Wheeler said. "But you can always count on these guys coming out of the bullpen. They're a solid group."
The Phillies get another crack at the Mets next week at Citi Field.
"To beat these guys, you almost have to play a perfect game," Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis said. "I think we're getting better, but it's not enough right now. We have to do much better than that."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Conforto homers: The Mets sent out a lineup early in the afternoon with Curtis Granderson starting the game, but a short time later called him a healthy scratch and put Conforto in the leadoff spot instead. After Conforto singled and scored in the first inning to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, he hit a 1-2 fastball to left field for a solo home run in the third to make it 2-0. More >
"I'll hit there every day if he wants me to," Conforto said of leading off.

Self-inflicted damage: Phillies right-hander Vince Velasquez is still having trouble pitching deep into games. He allowed five runs in five innings, throwing 100 pitches in the process. He allowed three runs in the fifth, and it started when he hit No. 8 hitter Travis d'Arnaud with a pitch and walked Wheeler. More >
"Terrible," Velasquez said about his performance. "These first two starts are not the way to go. I'm not even giving my team a chance to win. This is horrible."

• d'Arnaud hit by pitch, runs from trainer
QUOTABLE
"It's a big weight off my shoulders." -- Wheeler, on winning his first game since 2014. More >
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Mets finished their series in Philadelphia with 10 home runs. They've homered 10 times in a three-game series just twice in franchise history, each of those occasions coming at Citizens Bank Park in the past 13 months.
THE SLUMP CONTINUES
One of the Mets' few concerns in the sweep was the performance of third baseman José Reyes, who went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Wednesday to fall to 2-for-37 (.054) on the season. Afterward, Collins indicated that he is likely to give Reyes a day off Thursday.
"It is frustrating," Reyes said. "But at the same time, I can't put it in my head right now because we're playing good baseball. … We're winning ballgames, and that's all that matters."
WHAT'S NEXT
Mets:Robert Gsellman (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will take the mound at 7:10 p.m. ET on Thursday as the Mets open a four-game series in Miami. Gsellman will oppose left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, whose strong start spurred the Marlins to a series win over the Mets last weekend in New York.
Phillies: Philadelphia opens a six-game road trip at 4:05 p.m. ET on Friday against the Nationals at Nationals Park. Right-hander Aaron Nola (1-0, 4.50 ERA) makes his second start of the season. Nola took a good first step on Saturday in his debut against the Nats, allowing three runs over six innings. It was his first start since July, following a right elbow injury.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.